"He had a different way of looking at the land, the trouble at hand or any circumstance that might just come along .... and he measured his life in cedar posts and miles of barbed wire fence”.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

How Did Grand Jury Foreman Linda Muhlbach of Huntersville Lead Grand Jury To A "NO TRUEBILL" Finding?

The answer may not be easy.

But given the facts that are known versus the facts that are spelled out to the Grand Jury it seems pretty clear that the video was enough to put themselves in the position and mindset of Randall Wes Kerrick and seek a reduced charge.

The Grand Jury after hearing and seeing all the evidence presented by only those seeking to prosecute Officer Kerrick chose to pass on the charge of Voluntary Manslaughter.

Think about it for a second, no rebuttal by the defense no opposing evidence or witnesses. The truth is in watching the full video, something the public has been denied. Apparently law enforcement saw a crime but the grand jury saw past the statues and into the fear and panic the Wes Kerrick felt.

Last year CP posted a video of a 2011 Officer involved shooting that on first look was unjustified. The media and local loud voices condemned the Police Department and the Officer.

But after a long and intensive investigation the Officer was found to have acted within the law.

The blog post is here a little advance warning the video is rather intense.

The parallels are very interesting. The reason I'm comparing the two shoots is that the department took their time and was very open releasing the entire video to the public knowing full well that the condemnation would be immediate. Where as CMPD hides the truth, and in this case threw the Officer under the bus before really thinking the event through in an effort to head off any public outcry.

Now that the, at least 1st Grand Jury, has rejected the charges this has really fired up the voices and cries of racism.

Those in the black community will automatically jump on the fact that Linda Muhlbach is white and proclaim that as an educated white woman she railroaded and intimated any black jurors present if there were any black jurors in the first place.

Of course all of this is supposed to be conducted in secret. The lid was lifted off the grand jury when the Observer published the late Friday filing seeking to block a second grand jury hearing.

Well, here are my 2 cents. The NAACP and THUG are nothing but racist promoting organizations that only hurt the black community. The THUG ”leader”, has been arrested more than once for driving with a revoked license and non-payment of child support. Hello deaf ears, you followers need to wake up and realize these people are only in it for their best interest. They don’t give 2 craps about the black community. If they did they would be holding protest and rallies every time there was a black on black crime.

Let’s take a visit to the white volunteer fireman that was shot in the head by 2 black males after pretending their car broke down. How many “white” groups did you see protesting? There you go. It’s funny that I went to West Charlotte High School (I’m White) and have lots of black friends. All of my black friends have lots of common sense and would never ever step foot into a protest or rally with the NAACP or “THUG”. Because they’re educated and know that these groups only promote racism with any race that isn’t black. They also know that these groups are only widening the gap to reduce racism.

Maybe Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson should take the time to work on the black on black crime and see if they can fix a problem that has plagued the black community for so many years. Doing the line of work I’ve done for the last 22 years in Charlotte, I know that there is a huge issue within the black community. I see it every day and it’s not going away. I don’t give to rats butt about what color the president or mayor of Charlotte is. Patrick Cannon and the president are a whole different type of black than what is in the projects. Do you think you will see Patrick Cannon at a rally or protest tomorrow against Officer Kerrick or CMPD? Un, no.

The DA & AG has made this about one person, one case. I was hopeful that the either would respectfully acknowledge that they were attempting to get justice for all those who had cases heard but as you can clearly see they were not. Everyone has their opinion but what the law says is what the law says. As adults you would think that at the very least we would acknowledge the law and if need be understand that violating the law will only lead to the case being dismissed.

Many legal "experts" have been quoted in the media that resubmitting a case to the grand jury is not uncommon. In print this has usually been a few lines after how uncommon it is for a no true bill ruling from the grand jury.

It's been reported that in 2013 the Mecklenburg co grand jury heard thousands of cases and only issued two(2) no true bills. How can resubmitting the charges be a common event if the no true bill is nearly unheard of?

The claim that the grand jury was not a "full panel" is a smoke screen GS 15a-621 is pretty clear a grand jury has not less than 12 people not more than 18. As long as there were 12 present the grand jury was valid.

Looks to me like the AG office is also blowing off the procedure outlined in GS 15a-629, the grand jury submitted a request for a lesser charge with wording that appears to be taken directly from section b .

It appears state law has a procedure for this exact situation but the AG office is choosing to ignore that procedure and resubmit the same charges with the same evidence?

The local media is big on showing Ferrell in his Florida A&T Jersey. Why don't they report that he was cut from the team because he was a poor performer and was involved in at least five major fights. That he was subject to random seemingly without reason fits of rage?

The words "student athlete" are meant to impress you, to make you think this guy was a shining star cut down by a Nazi death squad. This is just retaliation for Trayvon, yet another person painted by the media as a "sweetheart." Plus Roy Cooper wants that Democratic nomination and vote for governor--and we know who votes democrat no matter the candidate or issue. It is sad that the black community, armed with no facts, automatically sees Kerrick as at fault--but have the audacity to imply he is racist. The black community seems to get off so hard on acting like someone besides them is holding back their people--therefore I have little sympathy for your self imposed plight

I like how you mentioned the jury in your article. You hit the nail on the head about the media claiming racism if there are more white jurors. They fail to realize that a "jury of your peers," applies to the defendants and not victims. It appears this case will turn out just like the Trayvon Martin case where the Defense will have an uphill battle to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. People, beyond a reasonable doubt applies to the prosecution and not the defense.

6:11 You wrote, "You hit the nail on the head about the media claiming racism if there are more white jurors. They fail to realize that a "jury of your peers," applies to the defendants and not victims.

You are correct about trial rights, but your post seems to imply that black people are not the peers of white people.

Is that what you meant?

I'm not a big fan of quotas either, but could a jury of predominantly middle class black men not be a fair 'jury of peers' for Mr. Kerrick ?

PEER (Merriam-Websters dictionary): one that is equal to another in status, achievement, or value

I believe 12-18 "peers" in this case should constitute 12-18 individuals that reasonably and accurately reflect all of the people who reside in Mecklenburg County. Certainly not everyone is qualified to sit on a jury or grand jury for a variety of reasons (extreme bias on either side, mental/substance abuse problems, knowing the defendant or the deceased, preformed opinions and an unwillingness to recognize evidence or lack thereof), but let us look at it this way: An all black grand jury/trial jury would be just as out of line in this notion as an all white jury. If the defendant's peers in the county are 55 percent black, then perhaps this is the percent of blacks that should serve on the jury. However I believe the most important goal is to get a true sampling from society, not meet racial quotas or anything like that.

Cooper said he wanted a full panel. Did he instruct the first panel that all must vote? Would it have not been more impartial to simply have waited one more week and directed the original panel to vote with all members present? It suggests to me he simply wanted another panel to take another shot at Kerrick. There is a problem with North Carolina law if it allows prosecutors to keep taking shots at defendants, even though a lawfully obtained verdict has been delivered. If the second panel had reached the same decision as the first, how many times would Cooper have resubmitted?

Merriam Webster says that verdict can also mean a decision...check it out....but for the sake of those who can't quite understand the core issue, I'll use "decision", and yes, we all know about double jeopardy,,,that's why it's not mentioned. The "decision" was not respected....why was that??? A lawfully obtained finding was discarded. The system that was good enough for tens of thousands of prior defendants is suddenly not good enough. Was it because the Officer happened to be White, and the suspect was Black? Tens of thousands of cases submitted to the Grand Jury, never one being resubmitted, but here comes Cooper....was he pandering to the Black voter? Was it because of the racist comments spewed by Chestnut and the NAACP, among others?

Interesting to note that Cooper secured new "witnesses" for the second GJ. Doubtful that they will appear at the trial, if a trial actually occurs. Remember, folks, you don't have to be a material witness to testify at GJ. It can and often is hearsay, which opens the door for witnesses to be "creative". Wait until the public learns of just how creative one of the witnesses was a few years ago on a DWI case....OMG what a idiot...should have been terminated then...but oh no...Some agencies are famous for promoting incompetence...

9:23...We get a lot of this stuff on here: "There was this one cop on this one case I was involved in a while back, and if anyone ever found out what he did/said, they'd throw him under the jail. But that little prick still works here and now he outranks me." I'm starting to think the problem is the average beat cop, who wants to vaguely bitch about criminal actions by fellow officers, but doesn't want to do anything about it for fear of being blacklisted.

Is your badge broken? When are you going to give real information, when this "DWI witness/idiot" is testifying against you on a grand jury so he can cover his ass or look like the whistle blower while you get written up/fired/charged? It will be too late; your credibility will be shot then. You should give the information now. Anonymously, but now.

6:31....if you are actually a cop, surely you must know that giving out the specifics right now is not in the best interest of Kerrick...let the witness get on the stand, and then let their credibility dissolve in front of the jury...put the details out now and Cooper will just use another witness....but...I don't see any reason you can't follow your own advice now, since a trial is not upcoming for what you speak of???

I was referring to the "few years back" comment. Not a cop--nor claiming that. my whole point is, if someone has a history of dishonesty and happens to be involved in the case at hand--that is very relevant

YES! PLEASE use your badge, do your job, report illegal or violating acts immediately and stop the corruption. Stop wallowing around bitching about how all these other cops are breaking the law/should be fired/should be in jail/are about to come to justice through the FBI or SBI/ will be in court soon...It's clownish.It's cowardly.It's illegal.It's wrong.Speak up now.

Everyone seems to know what's going on in IA but won't speak up. Everyone knows about illegal orders but won't speak up.Everyone knows about coverups, but won't speak up.You're all worried about covering your own butts instead. How many officers are sitting on information? What's your excuse, other than being afraid of repercussions to your wallet? THAT would be illegal, too.

Quit whining and take action. Let someone you know and trust send in the information if that's what you have to do.

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CP's Daytime Job

Everyone Needs A Job. I'm Yacht Captain in charge of 7 boats the largest 97' but my fav is pictured above. The best part is it gives me a chance to blog about parts of the Carolinas many don't get to see on a regular basis.

Cedar Posts and Barbed Wire Fences

He had a different way of looking at the land,the trouble at handor any circumstancethat might just come along.

And while much in the world has changedthe pull of the mountainsand the rangefor him has always been strong.

His back to the windhe placed the last postand at lastthe day's work was done.

As the seasons changed,the work got harderbut he still rosewith the sun.

The posts became heavy,bails of wire he’d need some helpbut he just pushedhimself more.

His back now achedand his legs tired quicklyeven his bedmade him sore.

Over the yearshe’s always done his bestright up to the present tense,and he measured his life in cedar postsand miles of barbed wire fence.